Purdue Professor to Lecture Thursday on "Don Quixote"

by Howard W. Hewitt

April 4, 2005

One of the nation’s leading experts on "Don Quixote" the tale of a mad, errant knight will speak on the Wabash campus at 4:15 p.m. Thursday in Detchon 209.

Purdue University Spanish Professor Howard Mancing will be lecturing on the influence of Cervante’s masterpiece. It is believed Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra started the novel in the late 1500s with the first of its two volumes printed Dec. 20, 1604. He completed the second volume in 1615, a year before his death.

It has been a bestseller since its publication, according to CBSNEWS.com, ranking as the most published and translated book after the Bible.

"For four centuries this character has not only lasted by also influenced many artists, writers, musicians, poets and film directors, said Mancing in a story on the Purdue University website. Mancing is author of "The Chivalric World of Don Quixote" and "The Cervantes Encyclopedia."

"It’s a great work, but if you read the book yourself, you are likely to struggle," Mancing said. "In the age of video, film, television, computer screens and video games, Americans generally don’t read such complex literary works. Certainly, many more people being this book than finish it. If reading this book on your own, it helps to talk with someone who has read the novel."